Remembering Andy and Alli

Andy Varipapa achieved a rock star status at Ten-Pin Bowling due to his incredible tricks. At one point he was called “the greatest one-man bowling show on Earth”. He not only was a professional bowler but also played baseball and golf. In 1947, when he was 56, he won the famous BPAA All-Star competition, and he became the oldest winner ever. But he did not stop there, and at the age of 78 he taught himself to bowl left-handed. Whether right or left-handed, he could regularly convert the 7-10 split by rolling one ball from each hand at the same time. His signature shot was called “Boomerang” where the bowling ball slowly rolled down the lane only to return to the starting point. He made several short films demonstrating his skills, and here is one of the most famous ones.

You may not be able to bowl like Andy, but he can certainly help you to polish your skills. His famous book “Andy Varipapa’s Quick Way to Better Bowling” can be found on Amazon.

Our group was introduced to Andy and his amazing skills when one of our dearly beloved regular bowlers, Allison Heathfield, mentioned him one day. Alli was certainly as entertaining as Andy. Her sense of humour, sharp tongue and wit, and also great bowling ability was a wonderful addition to the fun we generated as a group. Thank you so much Alli for being with us, playing with us, and we hope now you are having fun and playing bowling with Andy.